I don't own these
characters or profit from them. While this is a fan fic based on
Batman Begins and Dark Knight, all Batman stories not written by the
original creator of Batman could be considered fan fiction too,
published or not. So get off my back! This is just my idea of how I'd
like the next one to go okay.

"What would it be
this time Master Wayne?" The elderly butler moved up behind his
employer and friend.

"I've been
tracking this string of robberies across the country. Nobody has yet
found a common link between them all. But, then I noticed that in
each instance the circus was in town."

Alfred read,
"Professor Oswald Cobblepot's Circus of Wonders. Coming this week
to the Gotham Area. Bring the kids." Alfred raised an eyebrow. "I
take it you're going to take in the show."

Bruce nodded. "And
take it down if my hunch is right."

Barbara Gordon looked
up pleadingly at her father as he bagged yet another piece of
Batman's discarded gear. "Please daddy." They had started
another whole room specifically for it over the last four years since
Batman had come on the scene. Officially the police were supposed to
catch him. Unofficially most of them were not trying that hard.
"Batman even has a motorcycle!"

"And if Batman
jumped off a roof would you?" Jim asked playfully. "Barb, I've
let you get away with a lot. I admit I've let you wrap me around
your little finger since your mother and brother left. But there is
no way I am going to let my sixteen year old daughter cruise the
streets of Gotham on a motorcycle."

He frowned at the
memory of his wife leaving, but he had to admit his ex-wife had a
point. Gotham was not a great place to raise kids, even if it was
getting better than it was. After Twoface… Harvey Dent he reminded
himself… had kidnapped them and held a gun to his son's head he
could understand why she had to leave. And she understood why he
couldn't. Still she had been a lot less understanding about Barbara
insisting on staying with Jim and not her. True his daughter visited
with her every other weekend, but he knew she resented her daughter's
choice.

"This is so
unfair." She sighed and looked in the room. On the wall hung pieces
of cape and costumes. Strange devices. Baterangs. And even a few
spare utility belts. Several technology firms had already offered the
police a lot of money for them, but each one was catalogued and not
going anywhere until the day they actually arrested Batman and used
it as evidence in his trial. So basically almost nobody really paid
much attention to it. Still it was pretty cool. Barbara was one of
the few non-police officers who had ever even seen this room. "Why
not?"

"Because you can't
lock the doors in a motorcycle."

"And I can't run
away from a spreading toxic gas cloud in a traffic jam in a car
either," she said.

Jim frowned. "That's
not the point." Last month the Joker, assisted by Dr. Harlene
Quinzel of Arkham had escaped and reworked Dr. Crane's fear gas
into some kind of laughing gas. That had almost completely decimated
most of the city. Truthfully there were days when Gordon wished
everyone would just pack up and leave town so he could too.

He waved to the guy
at the controls and with a loud buzzing sound the evidence cage
opened up. "Thanks Dave."

"No problem
Commissioner," he said and nodded to Barbara. "You know I wish
they'd just catch Batman already."

"You do huh?" Jim
said, filling out the forms.

He nodded. "Yeah. I
mean sure he's cleaned up the mob bosses and street crime, but now
there's all these freaks moving in. Most of 'em are being chased
out of Metropolis by that flying guy in the cape, so they come here
because everyone knows as good as he is Batman's just human. He
doesn't have any powers above and beyond mortal man. Not like that
other guy." He took the clipboard back.

Dave laughed. "Hey
Gordon, you should tell your daughter not to believe everything
people say about the bat."

Gordon shrugged and
motioned for his daughter to follow him. The truth was he had been
part of the group investigating those sightings. They had found a
pile of ashes, an opera cape, and a bloody stake. But he had not told
his daughter that. So far all she had to go on was the police radio.
Children in Gotham had enough problems. Anyway there was evidence
that some of these costumed psychos had been operating for a long
time. It was just that nobody had really heard about them before.
Batman had recently dropped off the Royal Flush Gang. Rumors about
their activities had gone back for centuries.

Outside they got into
his cruiser and he said, "Sweetie, what is wrong with a nice safe
car?"

Outside the big top
the mother and fourteen year old son in the acrobatic group the
Flying Graysons watched as the father argued with a squat round
figure. "My family and I are leaving tomorrow!"

"You signed a
contract."

"I don't care.
Mr. Cobblepot, when you took over this circus I thought it was a
little strange, but I was okay with it. We did our job and that was
it. But after this…"

"The circus was
failing. We needed the money," the voice was nasal, like a cross
between a bird and a man. Not surprising.

Dick watched his
father from beside his mother. He knew something had happened, but so
far his parents had refused to talk with him about it. So he stood
silently with her and waited for his father to finish.

"I understand that
sir, but I refuse to expose my family to it. I won't go to the
police. I've got no proof anyway, but in the morning we are
leaving."

"Fine," the man
squawked. "Have it your way. But tonight you do the show."

"Right," Mr.
Grayson said. He waved his family over. As they moved into the tent
he waited until they were out of earshot and said, "As soon as the
show is over we pack up and head out while they're still busy."

"Holy sh-" Dick
began.

"Dick!" His
mother said. Then she turned to her husband. "What about our last
paycheck?"

He shook his head.
"Forget it."

Outside the tent
another figure stepped up behind Cobblepot. "You think we can trust
them to keep their mouths shut?"

"Does it matter?"
They stood silently for a moment. "They're up in half an hour."

"That's what they
think."

They walked into the
tent and split up. There was a drum roll as Cobblepot made his way to
the center ring, the spotlight on him as he walked, arm up to hide
his face under the large top hat. And then he took it off and bowed,
eliciting gasps of astonishment from the crowd. They were looking at
his long hooked nose, his flipper-like clawed hands, and his black
gums full of pointed misshapen teeth. "Greetings ladies and
gentlemen. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Oswald Cobblepot, also
known as the Penguin. Welcome to my circus." Someone tossed a raw
fish from off to the side. He caught it in his teeth and swallowed it
whole. The crowd applauded.

The show went on. And
Cobblepot introduced each act one at a time. "A student of the
ninjas of far east the amazing Kite-man!" And the audience watched
as the top of the tent opened up and up flew a man with a small hang
glider on his back. "From the bayous of Louisiana, the famous
crocodile man himself, Killer Croc!" Several women screamed as the
monster, who was pale white and covered with scales snapped long
reptilian teeth at the audience. He was held in check by several
handlers and some large thick chains. Someone tossed him a raw
chicken. His teeth snapped on it crushing the bones.

"The strongest man
in the world, Bane!" A tiny man, shorter than Cobblepot even walked
out and people laughed. He growled like a child beneath his thick
leather mask. Then he flexed and suddenly to everyone's amazement
he bulked up to huge proportions, towering almost ten feet tall.
Roaring like a wrestler now he walked over to the wrecked car people
had dragged out before and began crushing it like a soda can in his
hands.

"Next up, the first
family of the air, the Flying Graysons!"

Up at the top of two
polls the Graysons began swinging back and forth over the dirt floor
of the tent. They swung and jumped and twirled through the air. Even
Bruce, sitting in the audience, was impressed. They had moves it had
taken him years working with ninjas to learn. And they performed them
even better than he did. Though he would personally never dress in
bright red and yellow shirts and green tights. But that was the
circus for you.

Mr. Grayson flew out
of his son's hands and into his wife's they smiled at one another
and anyone who saw them would have realized that even after years of
marriage they were still deeply in love.

The trapeze ropes
snapped.

Bruce walked up to
Jim Gordon. Barbara was still sitting in the car. "Any idea what
happened?"

"I'd say…"

Suddenly there was a
shout and the two men turned to look. "You killed them! You killed
them!" They saw Dick Grayson screaming at the mutant ringmaster.

Cobblepot said, "I'm
afraid the boy is right. I did kill his parents." Everyone froze.
"It's all my fault. I knew we should have replaces those ropes
months ago. But business has been slow and we've been putting
things off. It's all my fault."

"No! He murdered
them!" Dick shouted.

Oswald said, "I'm
afraid young Grayson is distraught by the loss of his parents. He's
a young boy and does not realize what he's saying." The man's
beady bird-like eyes narrowed. "And how much trouble someone can
get into for saying such untrue and hurtful things."

Bruce looked at
Gordon who said, "I saw it. But no proof."

"You'll look into
it?"

"You bet." He
looked at Cobblepot and raised his voice. "You will of course stay
in town while we investigate this."

"Certainly." He
was dressed in a lack tuxedo and top hat, leaning on an umbrella like
a cane. "We can extend the run of the show and do some much needed
repairs. I'm certain that with an accident like this the safety
inspectors will want to look over everything." He nodded to them.
"Good day gentlemen. As you can guess I have a great deal of work
to do." He turned and waddled away.

"What about the
boy?" Bruce asked.

"He's got a trust
fund that will kick in when he's sixteen. The Graysons were fairly
high paid performers. Long time circus family. Earned a lot and spent
a little. Until then he'll probably be in an orphanage. I heard
some of the circus people offered to adopt him, but there's no way
social services is going to allow that. Aside from the bias the
people in this town have for clowns in general."

Bruce looked at Dick.
The boy was watching Cobblepot leave with an odd look for a kid who
had just lost his parents. Bruce had had the same look when he had
first seen the man who killed his parents during the trial. With the
dark police blanket wrapped around his body you could only see his
red shirt. He looked like a robin. "I might have another idea."

Bruce was leaving
when the social worker's car pulled up out front. Alfred said, "Are
you sure this is a good idea Master Bruce? You should know how easy
it is for a young man like that to stumble across certain things."

"Alfred, he lost
his parents. And we rebuilt everything from below ground up. He won't
stumble on anything." He paused. "You're sure you don't mind
showing him around without me?"

"I did raise you
sir," Alfred said with a smile.

"And look how
normal I turned out." The butler rolled his eyes. Together they
walked out to meet the lady and boy getting out of the car. Dick was
in a new set of clothes and holding a large suitcase.

"Mr. Wayne, I'm
Miss Sydney of…"

"Yes, I know,"
Bruce said. "Was there some more paperwork?"

"No sir I just…"

"Then I must be
going. Business to see to. You know how it is." He looked down at
Dick. "My butler Alfred will get the boy set up while I'm gone."

"Right this way
master Dick," Alfred said.

"But…" The lady
began again, only to realize she had been left alone without a
backwards look. Bruce's Viper pulled out of the garage fast and
went right by her. "Jerks."

Inside Alfred led the
boy through the house. Dick looked around. "Big."

"It is rather,"
Alfred said. "It's why Master Bruce thought we could spare some
room for you. Though he is a busy man. It's unlikely you'll see
much of him I am afraid."

"That's alright,"
he said quietly.

"Dinner is served
promptly at seven and breakfast is at six. You will be attending
school during the day…"

"Can't I be home
schooled? My mother had a teaching degree."

"But I do not,"
the man said.

"Oh." He stopped,
staring at a large portrait over the fireplace. "Who are they?"

"Master Bruce's
parents," Alfred said softly. "They were killed by a mugger when
Master Bruce was very young." Dick started walking again. Neither
of them said anything until they got to his room. "Master Bruce
wanted to make sure you felt at home here." He opened the large
double doors.

Dick gasped. His room
was huge. As big as a circus tent. In fact Bruce had hung a pair of
trapeze bars from the ceiling. Next to the large bed was a small
fridge and microwave. And on another wall was a large circus poster
promoting the flying Graysons. Dick and his parents were on it,
smiling in black and white.

"Will that be all
sir?" Alfred asked. "You have one hour and then we need to go get
you registered at the school."

Dick nodded. "Uh,
yeah, thanks." Alfred left. Just in time too. Dick was starting to
cry.

Wayne Banking and
Trust was one of the most well protected private banks in the world.
From conventional attacks and from some of the strange r attacks.
This was Gotham City after all. At one time being a bank guard in
that city was considered a form of suicide. Now many of the
wealthiest people in the world had money in it and more things than
it was easy to imagine in the safety deposit box.

Kite-man did not land
on the roof. Instead he floated an inch above it. The sensors were
designed to trip from weight if he landed on it and from heat, if he
were not wearing a thermal stealth suit. According to everything but
the cameras he was stealthily avoiding he was nothing more than a
large flock of pigeons. Eventually he found the power box connecting
to the emergency generators. "Now!"

Down in the sewers
Oswald and Croc were in front of the line for the city's main power
grid. Croc bit down on the line leading to the bank. Meanwhile
Cobblepot pressed a button setting off the bombs they had planted at
the power station and Kite-man dumped acid into the backup generator.
"There we go. Now the cops will investigate the bombs and even if
they get the power grid back up they won't notice a thing wrong
here until it's too late."

"You always did got
some good plans Wally," Croc said in a deep Cajun accent.

"Penguin you
reptilian dolt. Never call me Wally when we're on a job. No names."

"Sorry Penguin."

"Perfectly alright
my old luggage. Now," he added with a twirl of his umbrella. "Shall
we head on up and help our colleagues take our much deserved
retirement fund?"

"Oh boy howdy. I
got my eye on a nice swampy island in the Florida Keys."

Bruce smiled at the
woman he was meeting at the restaurant "Mr. Wayne this is Miss
Selina Kyle."

"A pleasure," he
said taking her hand and kissed the back.

"Same here Mr.
Wayne," she purred. Bruce thought she looked like the lady who
played Storm in the X-men movies. "And may I thank you for your
generous donation to so many of the Kyle foundation's charities."

"I try to make the
world a better place however I can," Bruce said.

Selina smiled. "Well
that's the point. But according the company policy if someone
donated more than thirty million dollars in one year as head of the
foundation I have to meet them and thank them in person with dinner."

"Well feel free to
order whatever you want."

"No Mr. Wayne, I'm
supposed to pay."

"Save it for the
kids," he said, pulling out a chair for her. "I own the place."

She laughed. "Okay
then."

Bruce smiled and took
a seat across from her. They ordered and the waiter took the menus.
"So what is someone like you doing in Gotham?"

"I'm part of a
group holding a special event. In the last few years Gotham has been
one of the most crime free cities in America. So my board of
directors wanted to old it here."

"True, but you have
to know that the crimes we do get here are… pretty extreme."

"True, but a lot of
them are showing up here. Then it's only a matter of time before
more costumed clowns like Batman show up."

"I always thought
Batman was kind of cute." Bruce smirked. She smiled and sipped from
her glass of wine. "Anyway we've got a local museum to let us
have a party for bug time donators a their museum at the same time
they are exhibiting…"

"The golden statue
of Bast," Bruce said. "It's been in all the papers."

"Cute and well
informed. You know Mr. Wayne I could use a date."

"I do have
something on my schedule, but I may be able to fit it in," he said
evasively.

Selina smiled and
said, "Listen buddy boy. I don't care how rich you are. Nobody
fits in Selina Kyle. You will be there. You will dress well. And you
will have a wonderful time.""Well when you put it like
that…" Suddenly his phone rang. Moving it aside he saw a bat
symbol flashing on the screen. "Uh, I'm afraid that's an
emergency… but tell them it's on my tab." He got up and moved
away from the table.

"So much for your
reputation as an easy going playboy. You look so serious."

"Oh I have my
kicks."

The doors of the bank
had locked automatically when the power went out. Everything in the
bank was designed to open only when the power was on. Otherwise it
should take a tank to get through any door in the place and more to
get through the front door. The guards, all heavily armed with
Wayne-tech stun guns capable of knocking out an elephant, stood in a
wall in front of the vault. Mostly because they were used to someone
commandeering a tank to get in.

The door seemed to
explode outwards with the squeal of tearing metal. It floated in the
air three feet in front of the wall. The guards opened fire, but it
blasted off the chunk of wall. Seconds later roughly a dozen gas
canisters entered the room through the gaping hole. "Gas!" The
customers rolled their eyes at the man who said that. Like they had
never been gassed by bank robbers before.

When they were passed
out Bane threw the wall away and stepped in followed by Penguin, and
Killer Croc, all in gas masks. Through his mask Penguin said, "Bane
if you would be so kind, please remove the vault door."

Bane grunted and
moved forward. As he did the elevator doors opened and Kite-man
floated out, looking smug. "I didn't miss the fun did I?"

"It just about to
begin," Croc said.

Bane reached out and
grabbed the vault door. Muscles heaving he pulled. And pulled. And
then stood back. He turned to Penguin and shrugged.

Before Penguin could
answer a new voice said, "You aren't." They turned to look and
saw Batman in what was left of the doorway. "You're going to end
up in a jail cell." He paused and looked them over. "Or possibly
an aquarium."

"You talking about
me boy?" Croc asked walking forward. Batman moved at him and jumped
up, passing between the monster's claws. On the way up he kicked
Croc in the face making him stagger back but not fall. Behind Croc's
back Batman hit Kite-man, knocking him back into the elevator shaft.

:Impressive,"
Penguin said and raised his umbrella. Without warning the thing
started firing bullets.

"I am," Penguin
said. The bullets tore holes in the wall like they were styrofoam.
Batman dove behind the customer service desk. While under there
Batman hit the alarm and the room filled with a loud ringing. A few
moments later Penguin ran out of bullets. "Bane, if you'd be so
kind." Bane lumbered forward and kicked the desk.

The bell rang loudly.
Barbara Gordon sighed and checked her watch. Well at least after
lunch break it was time for her Gymnastic class. Some excitement in
this boring school. But then boredom was the point at Merry Weather
Academy, the most prestigious private school in Gotham. Directly
across from the police station it was the place where all the rich
people in town sent their kids for maximum protection.

"Miss Gordon,"
her teacher said and she winced stopping just before she got to the
door. Other kids hurried past her.

"Yes Miss Isley?"

Pamela Isley, the
biology teacher pushed back a strand of red hair and adjusted her
glasses. She was very pretty and a lot of the other students had
crushes on her. The only problem as far as Barbara was concerned was
that she was completely insane. "I wanted to discuss the paper I
assigned over the weekend."

"What about it?"

"Well I asked the
class how you would save the rainforest. Your answer was to make
people better. You went into some detail about that."

"Yes Miss Isley. I
think if people were better…"

"Do you not listen
to any of my lectures? People are the problem whether they fall into
such mundane classification of good or evil. You can not make the
world a better place merely by changing attitudes. Either way they
will still overpopulate and-"

"That leads to
cutting down precious natural resources for the world's only
unnatural creature," Barbara finished.

Isley frowned. "Just
so you know you are getting a C on the paper."

"Whatever," she
said and walked out. As she did she almost ran into the Principal.
"Excuse me."

"It's quite
alright." He stepped past her. Behind her Barbara heard him say,
"Miss Isley, we need to talk." Barbara walked around the wall,
then leaned there and listened. "It's come to my attention that
you have been using school supplies to run unauthorized experiments."

"I'm sorry but
school rules say…" And then the lights went out. In the distance
there was a huge roar. Like an explosion.

Along with everyone
else Barbara ran outside to get a look around. They arrived just in
time to see the police pull away in droves. The power was in inside.
There were maybe three cops outside standing around looking confused.
Then the ranking officer split them up to search around the building.

The principal came
out and said loudly, "Students! Please head to the football field.
I'm sure the power will be on shortly."

"That or someone
dropped a nuke on the town," someone in the crowd said.

"And about time
too," someone else added. But they filed off under the watchful eye
of campus security. Barbara eyed the almost completely empty police
building in front of her.

Twenty minutes later
she was in the principal's office. Her backpack was next to the
chair. A security guard stood next to her. "So Miss Gordon, Oliver
here says you were seen hopping over the fence to get back into
school."

"Yes sir," she
admitted. "But the thing is I was worried about my dad."

"Ah yes, the police
commissioner." He coughed. "Well miss while I can understand your
worry you still violated school rules. So I am assigning you to a
chore."

"What?"

"Out in the yard
you'll find a young boy and an old man. They are Bruce Wayne's
butler and his new ward, Dick Grayson. I want you to show them around
the school."

"Won't I be late
for class?" The principal looked at her. "Okay, got it. Tour
guide it is."

The security guard
picked up her backpack then asked, "What's in this thing, rocks?"

"School books,"
she said and snatched it back.

Walking out Barbara
went to her locker and set the backpack inside. There was not much
room. The thing was stuffed full and it barely fit inside on the pile
of books in her locker. She gave her gym suit a longing look, but
shrugged it off. She would practice more after school. What she
really missed was the self defense classes the school insisted they
take Freshmen and Sophomore year. But after they taught the basics
they did not teach much so she had signed up for more training with
some friends of her dad's in the vice squad most of the last year.
Now she had the moves down and mostly practiced by herself.

Outside she found the
old man and the kid waiting patiently. She waved at them and took a
closer look. She had seen Dick at the incident at the circus when
they had loaded him into the social worker's car. "You look good
in a suit kid." She grinned as he blushed and looked down quietly.

"I take it you are
meant to be showing us around the school, Miss Gordon. I'm afraid
it's been some time since Master Wayne went here."

"I'm surprised
you know my name," she said. "My dad usually keeps me out of the
papers. He's afraid I'll get kidnapped again."

"Again?" Dick
asked.

Barbara smiled and
put her hand on the kid's shoulder. He turned a nice shade of red.
"You're new to this town, right kid?"

"Yeah," he
admitted.

"Well you'll get
used to it soon enough. I mean you are the ward of the richest man in
town. You'll probably be kidnapped by the end of the year." She
leaned down. "Sooner if you're right about those circus people
killing your mom and dad."

"Miss Gordon,"
Alfred said warningly.

"It's cool
Alfred," Dick said regaining his composure. "I knew people like
her in the circus. Usually in the freak show."

"Ooo, good one,"
Barbara said with a grin. "Call me Barb. Anyway you're supposed
to see the campus. So follow me."

She led him through
the halls. Pointed out the library. The cafeteria. And then the gym
where she was called over by the teacher. "Barbara, you're late."

'The principal is
having me show a new student around Mr. Smith."

"Oh, well okay
then," he said glancing at Alfred and Dick. "But as long as
you're here can you do a quick jump?" He pointed to the pommel
horse.

"Sure," she said
with a shrug. The other kids moved back. She stretched a little first
then ran forward. In a heartbeat she planted her hands on the horse
and jumped, She managed to do a complete flip and land. She bowed as
everyone else applauded. "Thank you, you're too kind."

Then something
appeared above her. She looked up and saw Dick complete three spins
almost five feet over her head. He landed on one hand, legs spread
into wide splits. Barbara was impressed. So was everyone else. At
least until his pants suddenly split in half. Still he laughed with
them and shrugged it off.

Alfred came forward.
"Well Master Dick, you seem to have made a good impression. Though
next time maybe you should change into gym clothes."

Flipping up onto his
feet Dick smiled broadly and said, "Point made Alfred."

"Come Master Dick,
I believe we're done here for today. You can start next week."

:"Hell," Mr.
Smith said. "If he wants he can teach this class."

"Not bad,"
Barbara said and ruffled the kid's hair. "Ten minutes in school
and already you have a job offer."

Batman groaned and
rolled over in the rubble that had been the desk. Fortunately for him
the alarms in the bank each had their own batteries. And the cops in
this town had experience. As soon as a bank alarm went off at least
half of the sirens in the city had converged on the bank.

In one desperate move
he hand grabbed one to the guard's weapons and aimed it at Bane,
but the behemoth just shrugged it off. And then the Penguin had said,
"Gentlemen I believe this plan is a bust. Time for us to take our
leave through the usual methods." Bane had started to move towards
Batman. "No time for that. Let's go." And they walked off into
the bank.

Batman then had to
drag himself out of the rubble and to the Batmobile before the police
showed up. His new car was sleeker and not as tank-like as the old
one. Faster too. But with less room on the inside. He had to lay
across both seats when he ordered the car, "Home." The autopilot
took off, passing easily through two dozen police cars and
disappearing around the corner before the drivers could react.

Bruce woke up with
Alfred finishing tying up his latest bandages. "When I suggested
you learn polo to cover up your wounds in public I think I was wrong.
I should have suggested you claim to be a very poor bull fighter.
What happened Master Bruce?"

"Metahumans,"
Bruce muttered. "I hate supervillains."

"Well nothing's
broken, thought your whole body appears to be one big bruise. If we
want to explain this we may have to burn the house down again."

"Screw that," he
said sitting up. "We'll lose the deposit. Besides, I have a date
this weekend."

"Oh really? With
whom?"

"A miss Selina
Kyle." He stretched and winced. "Hopeful the bruises will fade by
then though. Otherwise I'll have to show up in makeup." Alfred
pushed him back down.

"Master Bruce, if
you want to get well enough to get the men who did this, lay still
for at least a day."

"But…"

"No buts. Let the
police handle the search for now. They have guns." He cleared his
throat. "In any case Master Dick had a productive day at school
today. You may find it amusing."

"Don't make me
laugh," he said.

"I'll try." He
failed.

Upstairs Bruce found
Dick watching television and looking a little down. He walked over,
limping slightly. Dick glanced at him and asked, "What happened to
you?"

"Fell down.
Somebody kicked me." He smiled. "I heard you had quite a day
today."

"Not really." He
motioned to the TV. "In the circus we had an antenna but then they
switched over to digital and we've been stuck with DVDs for a
while." He shook his head. "Didn't matter though. I always
wondered how someone could just waste their time watching TV all day
and not doing anything."

"Well there are
about three thousand channels."

Dick looked away.
"Have they found any proof that Cobblepot killed my mom and dad
yet?"

Bruce smiled. "Yeah
actually. They found Kite-man in the shaft of an elevator at a bank
robbery. I have a pretty good feeling he's going to talk."

"Just Kite-man?"

"I'm afraid so.
He had some accomplices but whoever they were they escaped.
Apparently they tore a toilet out of the floor of the bank's
bathroom and dove into the sewer."

"So unless there's
actual proof Wally's going to be able to say that Kite-man was by
himself and is trying to pin it on them." Bruce didn't say
anything for a while. Dick said, "Hey I know you understand how I
feel. Alfred told me about your mom and dad. But, well… they caught
the guy who killed them right?"

"Yeah… they did."
He reached out and touched Dick's shoulder. "And I promise you
that one way or another the people who killed your parents will pay
for what they did."

Dick snorted. "Right.
Like nobody ever got away with murder."

"Not in this town,"
Bruce said firmly. Then he smiled. "So I hear you met a girl."

Dick forced a grin.
"She was cute, but I prefer green eyed red heads with deep golden
tans who are light on their feet." He added, "Uh, think you can
show me some moves? I saw you on the news a few times with some cute
girls."

"Sure."

From the hallway
Alfred watched them and smiled. Briefly he saw in his mind two
children sitting there. Both young boys. Talking like they were old
friends.

Jim Gordon answered
the door and found a delivery man standing there. He had three large
boxes. Briefly Jim noticed that they looked a lot like the kind they
used in the police department's delivery room. "Sign here
please." He did and the man brought the boxes inside. Jim looked
and saw that they were addressed to his daughter. "Barbara." She
didn't hear him. He signed and closed the door, heading to her
room. He knocked on the door. "Barb!"

She opened the door
and peeked out. Her music blared through the whole room. "Yeah
Pop?"

"You got a
delivery."

"Oh, cool!"

She came out and he
glanced inside. "What is that you're working on?"

"Something for home
economics. I'm supposed to sew some stuff." Barbara walked into
the living room and began taking the boxes back to her room one by
one.

"What is all this?"

"Just some stuff
mom sent me. Car parts. I was thinking of taking a mechanic class at
school next semester. I wanted to study how they work so I can fix my
car myself." She shook a box. It sounded like metal parts alright.
"How have you been?"

"Not great. Someone
blew up the power company, but it was a distraction. Someone tried to
rob a bank and someone else managed to break in and steal all the
evidence from the Batman room. Cleaned it out. The DA is pissed."

"Wow, that sucks,"
Barbara said closing her door. "Hey how about we order pizza and
get some movies?"

He smiled and said,
"Sure. Sounds like fun."

Barbara went to the
phone and dialed the number. "Hey dad, I was wondering. Do you
think someday I might become a cop?"

"Are you kidding? I
want you in college learning how to work computers. I want you as far
away from the crime here as possible. If I didn't have my job to do
we'd have left this place with your mother."

"Sure dad,"
Barbara said. "I guess you're right. I'm not really cut out for
law enforcement." The line was picked up. "Yeah we want two
double cheese…"

"We been in this
sewer for three days," Croc muttered. "We was supposed to be rich
Wally. Now we can't even go back to the circus cause Kite-man
wouldn't keep his mouth shut. I told you from the get go we
shouldn't have trusted no regular human."

"Forget it,"
Penguin said. "We knew they were going to figure it out eventually.
I bought the circus as a temporary cover."

"So what we going
to do now boss bird?" Bane grunted agreement to the question.

"We're going to
make the big score I promised." He held up a paper. On the cover
was a statue of a large golden cat.

In the lab she had
set up in an empty classroom at school Pam Isley worked over a
collection of beakers. "I'm not done yet. Soon they'll see. I
can change the world. Make it a better place. A place without stupid
ignorant humans!" She pulled out a syringe and tapped the side.
Inside was a thick green liquid. She pushed the needle into her skin
and injected herself. She closed her eyes tight. Her skin took on a
green tinge. "There we go."

Reaching over she
picked up a bottle marked cyanide. Taking a deep breath she tipped it
up and drank it. "Hey, it does taste like almonds." She waited.
She did not drop dead. "Success!"

Next she reached for
a different beaker and grinned. Pouring and mixing things.

Suddenly the door
opened and the principal stood there. "Miss Isley, what are you
doing here? The school is closed and you were fired."

"You know Steve, I
have a master's degree in three different sciences. I have a genius
level IQ. And yet, I still ended up working for someone like you."
She sneered, ignoring him and mixing her chemicals. "Do you know
what this is? It's a special pheromone that I've developed. Do
you know what it does?"

"I don't care.
I'm calling security…" He paused. Pam had dabbed some of the
chemicals on her neck. The smell permeated the room. He blinked and
shook his head. "What is that amazing aroma?"

"Oh just something
I whipped up. It's a mind control serum. Of course it's only one
of two things I've made recently. The second was a compound that
allows me to ignore things like this. Chemicals and poisons. Poisons
like this…" She motioned to the empty cyanide container. The
principal was not really listening any more.

The principal nodded.
He wandered over, barely paying attention to where he put his feet.
And then he leaned forward and Pam took his pudgy cheeks in her
hands. And kissed him. The cyanide still on her lips and mouth. A
moment later he dropped dead at her feet. "Idiot."

Bruce and Selina were
mixing with the crowd and they moved to the center of the room.
Selina smiled and sipped from her champagne flute. "Have you ever
noticed that rich people always seem to be drinking when they want to
have fun?"

"Probably because
they don't remember how to actually have fun," Bruce said.

"And you do?"

"I try," he said.
"What do you do with your time?"

"I'm a night
girl. Tight leather outfits. Whips. A few scratch marks…"
Suddenly the floor exploded and the scent of sewer gas filled the
rooms. Everyone backed away from the hole as Penguin, Bane, and
Killer Croc rose up out of the hole.

"Nobody move,"
Penguin cried.

Everyone was so
focused on them that nobody noticed that neither Bruce nor Selina
were in the room any more. Security guards were flooding the room
though, all of them with guns. These were not Wayne's employees.
"Freeze."

Penguin raised his
umbrella and opened fire, taking down half a dozen. Bane slammed his
hands on the ground and the room shook, unsettling everyone. While
they were unstable Croc moved with inhuman reptile speed and slashed
his claws through the remaining guards.

"Bane, grab the
statue and let's go!" Everyone moved out of the giant's way. He
walked over and smashed through the large glass case containing the
cat statue.

"Naughty," a
voice said from the ceiling. They looked up. By a skylight there was
a woman in black leather with a cat mask on her face. She went on in
a thick purring voice, "Didn't anyone teach you not to steal?
Especially when someone else has already has plans to steal it."

"Who're you?"
Penguin asked.

"They call me
Catwoman. And I'm afraid my fat little canary, that I already have
plans for that little trinket." She touched her belt. Suddenly from
the floor around the shattered case four small explosions went off.
The floor collapsed and it dropped into a hole.

"I told you that
weird ramp shouldn't have been there," Croc muttered to Penguin.

Catwoman jumped down,
landing on her feet into the hole after it. Deep in the sewer they
heard the sounds of something sliding down a metal ramp. And then a
speedboat rapidly vanishing into the distance.

"I have got to sell
this museum," the curator muttered.

Penguin groaned. "Not
again! What is it with this town?" He turned and snarled to the
others. "Let's just hold these saps for ransom…" Suddenly a
boot hit him in the side of the head sending him forward. Bane caught
him. Penguin turned see who it was. Batman stood there. "Not you
again."

"Yeah, me," he
said. Suddenly Croc rose up behind him and grabbed him in a bear hug.
Batman slammed his head back into the gator-man's face then reached
up and threw him over his shoulder into the other two. Bane did not
even flinch as he caught the flying monster. "Give up."

'Not today!"
Penguin raised his umbrella. The top shot up into the air and opened,
spinning. "I'd get these people out of here bats. In about ten
seconds this place will fill with gas. Bane, let's go." They
turned and jumped back down the hole they came from.

Batman looked at them
then up at the flying deathtrap. "Everybody out!" The umbrella
began to smoke. Everyone screamed and ran for it.

Down in the sewer
Croc said, "I been with you up until now Penguin, but I got to say
his here town strikes me as being out of our league."

"Maybe you're
right Croc. I'm starting to think we'd have done better out of
Metropolis than this place. I think it's cursed."

"Maybe we head out
west and knock over a few small banks. Just settle for what we can
get." He paused. "What's that smell?"

"We're in a
sewer. You'll have to be more specific. After five days down here I
can barely smell anything." But then he caught a whiff too. "Do
you mean that enchanting aroma?"

Suddenly a new person
stepped out from behind one of the sewer walls. She was beautiful
with long red hair and a skin tight green outfit. "Thought I'd
find you boys down here. Read all about you in the papers." She
smiled and looked them over.

"Who are you?"

"Call me, Poison
Ivy," she said.

Croc grinned
stupidly. "Hey, maybe this here town not so bad after all." Bane
nodded agreement.

"How would you boys
like to make some real money?" She asked.

"Whatever you say
babe," Penguin said dreamily.

She motioned for them
to follow. "Come with me boys and I'll lead you to this city's
real piggy bank."

Outside the police
rounded up the guests to ask them questions while men in special
suits cleared the building for toxins. Looking through the crowd
Bruce finally caught sight of Selina. "There you are."

She smiled and
hurried over to him. "I was looking for you. Did you see what
happened?"

"Not much," he
said. "You?"

"Just the tail
end."

"Do you think that
Catwoman was working with the others?"

"I don't think
so," she said. "She didn't strike me as being that much of a
freak."

"Except the part
where she jumped down from the ceiling," Bruce said. "I hope the
police will find the statue. It's priceless." He smiled and said,
"So Miss Kyle, can I have my driver give you a ride home?"

"No, I have some
things I need to do tonight." She paused. "Unless you'd like to
wait around?"

"Can't. I have
some people to see. Lunch tomorrow?"

"It's a date."
She leaned forward and kissed him. "Goodnight Bruce."

"Goodnight Selina."
He turned and headed for his limo and opened up a suitcase he had
kept in the back. Inside was his costume and some electronic
equipment. He pulled out a tracking device. It showed the tracer
stopped dead near the Gotham Zoo.

"Where to Mr.
Wayne?"

"Home. I have some
work to do and I need to drive myself the rest of the evening."

"Very good sir."

Batman walked through
the dark zoo, avoiding the cameras and security guards. His tracker
led him to the tiger cage. It made sense to him. The tigers were one
of the few big cats that spent a lot of time swimming. Their moat was
the only one full of water and thus had a connection to the sewers.
The cat theme made it kind of obvious. And provided the tracer was
still on the statue it was inside the artificial cave.

"Why is everyone
getting in my way tonight," Catwoman said, stepping into the light.

Batman narrowed his
eyes at her. "If you weren't a thief you wouldn't have problems
like that."

"Oh but then I
wouldn't get to meet tall dark strangers like you." She leered at
him. "Nicely sculpted muscles by the way." He didn't respond.
"The strong silent type?"

"Give up now and
return the statue and the police will go easier on you."

She laughed and
looked him in the eye. Hers were cat-like slits. "You know I think
I'll take my chances." Batman jumped. So did she. Catwoman landed
in a crouch on top of the light post. "Too slow… Yipe!"

Batman tugged on the
cable he'd gotten around her ankle and she fell, barely managing to
catch herself on the light. "We have leash laws in this town."

"Cute," she said
and sliced down with diamond tipped claws on her gloves, severing the
cord. Then she blew him a kiss. "Catch me if you can." Swinging
by one hand she flew through the air and landed running. Batman took
off after her.

When they got to the
parking lot he was just in time to see a motorcycle puling out. He
hit a button on his utility belt and the car pulled up. Batman hopped
in and took off after her.

Catwoman glanced over
her shoulder at the high speed car barreling down on her. "I need
to hire minions."

Barbara got up early
and turned on the television. Sadly a few years ago they stopped
showing cartoons on most of the major networks in the morning, but
she lucked out with the news. It was just as good.

"Once again this is
Vicky Vale and we are showing footage of Batman as he chases the
masked criminal known as Catwoman. This is a combination of News
Footage and home video emailed to this station from several eye
witnesses…" The footage showed the Batmobile chasing a woman in
black leather on a motorcycle.

"Does everyone have
one of those?"

Then Catwoman stopped
the bike and abandoned it, racing for a fire escape. Batman stopped
to and his car opened up. But instead of jumping out his seat
catapulted him up into the air and he landed above Catwoman on the
fire escape. She stopped and looked up at him, then turned and jumped
to the building next to them, and ran on all fours up the side of the
building like a squirrel. Batman followed and the both disappeared
over the edge. What followed next was a series of clips of the two of
them running over rooftops.

"Well that explains
why dad isn't in this morning," she muttered. She was going to
have to take the bus to school today.

Still that meant he
would probably be real busy all day and probably into the night.
Which meant she could get some practice in. Absently she wrote him a
note, hastily scribbled out, saying that she would be staying at a
friend's place tonight. It was Friday after all. The friend's
name was illegible. Then she went into her room and got the thing she
had been working on our of her closet and stuffed it into her
backpack. Then she used a padlock on the zippers to keep it shut.

An hour later she was
being dropped off outside school by the city bus along with about a
dozen other kids. "Amazing. The richest kids in the city and half
of them still have to take the bus to school." Then she noticed a
sleek limo dropping someone else off. "Hey Dick."

"Hi Barb," Dick
Grayson said, hefting his own pack.

"Your application
for the school gymnastics team went through. You can start Monday if
you want."

"Great. I'll try
not to show you up," he teased.

"Watch it shrimp,"
she mock growled.

Suddenly the PA
system came on. ""Students please assemble in the auditorium for
a special announcement."

Barbara frowned.
"That sounded like Miss Isley."

"So?"

"So I thought she
was fired a few days ago."

Dick shrugged. "Maybe
they had to give her two week's notice or something."

"Probably," she
agreed. "Look, you'd better go. I'm going to head into class
early. I do not need to hear another one of that lady's lectures."

"Won't you get in
trouble?"

"Not for the first
time," she assured him. "If there's anything important tell me
at lunch okay?" Barbara watched Dick walk off and then headed
towards her first class. Oddly enough the teacher was not in either.
"Huh, maybe I should have gone to the assembly." She shrugged and
headed up to the front of the class where they kept the televisions
for special days. She snagged a video from the stack and sat back to
enjoy herself.

Dick entered the
auditorium and found all the kids seated quietly and staring straight
ahead. So were the teachers and security guards. Miss Isley was up on
stage in a tight green outfit. It looked like something from a school
play. Maybe a forest nymph from Midsummer Night's Dream or
something. Were they putting on a play? Recruiting actors? Dick
wondered if he might get to play Puck.

The door slammed
behind him and Dick turned in surprise to see an all too familiar
face. Penguin smiled and said, "Well isn't this a lucky break!
Young Dick… I was afraid we might have to leave town without
killing you." He began raising his umbrella.

"Holy batshit it's
the Fatman!" Dick said.

"Wait," Isley
shouted from the stage.

"Why?" Penguin
snarled. Dick was getting light headed. There was some kind of
strange smell in the air. Ivy shot him a glare. "I mean, what for
my dear?"

"Do you know who
this kid's legal guardian is? Bruce Wayne. We can get more money
for him than the rest of these little brats put together."

Croc said, "Bruce
Wayne? I heard of him."

Penguin said, "You'd
have to go five thousand miles away to find someone who hasn't."
He glared down at Dick. "Fine kid, you have a chance to live,
provided your new daddy pays up." Dick reached out and grabbed at
the umbrella. Oswald backhanded him away.

And then Ivy was
there. The pain of the sudden slap was gone. Her hands were on either
side of his face and suddenly her eyes were all he could see. "Dick,
do me a favor and sit down with the others will you?"

Dick blushed and
smiled. "Uh yeah… sure."

"There's a good
boy," she said standing up. Dick got up and walked to an empty
seat. "You just have to know how to talk to them." Everyone in
the room was under her total control. The kids, both boys and girls,
stared straight ahead, waiting for her next order and smiling in
love-sick ways. "Now I think it's time to make some calls."

Catwoman was
breathing hard. Batman was still on her heals. She looked over her
shoulder at him and said, "Come on Bats. Shouldn't you be after
mob bosses or muggers? I do my best not to even hurt people when I
steal things." He did not answer, but he did get closer. "Besides
the suns up. We're supposed to be nocturnal. Let's call it a
day!"

Suddenly a window
opened nearby and Catwoman froze. Someone was holding a shotgun in
her face. "Stop right there!" The fat redneck cocked his rifle.

And then Batman was
there. He grabbed the gun and lifted it up, pointing it at a brick
wall just before it fired. The bullet went into the wall. Then Batman
yanked it away and punched the man. "No guns."

Grabbing his bloody
nose the man shouted, "You freak! I was helping."

"I work alone,"
Batman said. Turning on the man he looked at Catwoman who was still
stunned.

"Why did you do
that?"

"I don't kill."
He reached for his belt and pulled out a pair of bat-shaped
handcuffs. "Now are you coming quietly?" He moved towards her.
Catwoman brought of her claws in a defensive posture. Then Batman
froze and reached up to his ear. "Say again?" He waited, like he
was listening to someone. "Be right there." He turned and started
walking away.

"What? That's
it?" Catwoman asked. Batman ignored her and jumped off the
building. She followed and watched him land in the waiting Batmobile.
"Hey!"

Barbara glanced at
the clock. It had been two hours and she was already into a second
movie. It was strange. They had never taken this long for
announcements before. What did the school do? Hire a magician? A self
help guru? Whatever it was she had better take a look. If it was
taking this long it was probably important.

Still, she thought,
if they saw her sneaking in now she was sure to get in trouble. It
was probably better to sneak around and peek inside. There was a side
entrance to the auditorium that the kids used when they were putting
on shows for the parents. She went around there and peeked in.
Surprisingly she did not hear anything at first. Nobody was speaking.
Moving forward quietly behind the curtain Barbara peeked around the
edge.

The kids and staff
all sat in chairs staring forward like they were in a trance, smiling
in a worrying way. Further in the room she saw four people walking
around. She recognized them immediately. Three of them were the
freaks from the circus who had killed Dick's parents. The last was
Miss Isley. "What the…?"

Isley shouted loudly
into the wall phone she was holding, "I don't care if he's in a
meeting! You tell him that if he wants to see his darling daughter
alive again he had better talk to me right now!" She covered the
phone and looked at the mutants. "Can you believe these people?
This is the twelfth time this happened."

Barbara pulled back
out of sight and bit her lip. They were holding the kids for ransom!
Probably drugged them all too. That explained the stares. But how
did she do it? They all looked wide awake and it wasn't like she
could get really exotic poisons on a teacher's salary. And why did
Miss Isley suddenly look so good? Really really good. Like totally…
what was she thinking? She sniffed and smelled something odd. It made
her want to… what?

Something flashed
through Barbara's head. A lecture Isley had given a few months
back. "Many plants contain pheromones, particles of smell meant to
attract certain creatures. Especially flesh eating plants, flowers,
and fruits. In fact most perfumes work on this premise. Animals also
have their own smells each one designed to produce a visceral
response based on instinct rather than thought. If you found just the
right scent you could probably control people's minds." At that
point Isley had gone off on how she would then use that smell to
control logging developers and make them turn on each other rather
than cut down the rainforest and Barbara had tuned her out.

She raced out the
door, holding her breath. Then winced as she realized how much sound
she had made. Behind her she heard heavy footsteps echoing in the
huge auditorium. She turned and ducked around the edge of the
building as the doorway literally erupted around Bane, hunks of wall
falling around his shoulder as he stared out at the area.

"Anything?"
Isley's voice asked. "Well it doesn't matter. I used my
pheromones in the police station air system an hour before we started
this. They and anyone who comes to check on them will not be any
problem, even if the brat can get to a phone." She touched Bane on
the arm and the huge man shivered. "Just incase Bane sweetie, close
up this hole. I don't want our hostages snapping out of it." They
turned and went back inside.

Barbara cursed and
leaned against the wall. Her first thought had been to call the
police. The station was right there! But if they were all zombies
like the people inside then they were probably telling everyone that
everything was fine.

If she went and got
anybody else the freaks would probably tear them to pieces. Probably
while Isley's scent stuff kept them standing there and taking it.
There was nothing anybody else could do. Unless…

Determination on her
face Barbara headed inside the school and back to the lockers.

Batman arrived at the
school and leaped out of the car. In his ear Alfred said, "I've
tried contacting the police several times. But no matter what I say
they just say that everything is fine and hang up on me."

"I'll look into
it when I finish here. They would want me to take care of the kids
first."

"I attempted to
hack the school's security system but that's down as well."

Batman was about to
say something else when a motorcycle roared up behind him. He turned
and said, "What are you doing here?"

Catwoman grinned. "I
figured that whatever you've got going on has got to be pretty
important if you're going to leave a girl like me behind."

"Stay out of this,"
Batman said. "There are hostages inside."

"Then you can
probably use some help," Catwoman said.

Batman frowned. "Why
would you help me?"

"You saved my
life," she said. "I owe you."

"No. I work-"

"Alone. Yeah I
heard. But the thing is, I'm going in there. Now you can either
have me where you can see me or moving around on my own." She
winked at him.

Batman sighed. "Fine.
But stay back and do what I tell you. I don't need your death or
any of these kids on my conscience."

"You got it
Batman."

"Sir?" Alfred
asked.

"Later. Can you
give me any help?"

'Thermal imaging
from the satellite shows a large heat mass in the auditorium. I'm
not getting anyone anywhere else."

"On it," Batman
said. He motioned for Catwoman to follow him.

From behind she said,
"So who is on the other end of that radio?"

"Someone I trust,"
he said.

They moved slowly
towards the auditorium. Batman stopped outside when he saw that there
was a large hole covered up by what looked like stage curtains.
Catwoman said, "I take it the bad guys are in there?"

"Yes. You ready for
this?" Then Batman jumped and automatically covered his butt.

"It sounds like
you've made a friend," Alfred said and Batman could hear the
smile in his voice.

"Let's go,"
Batman growled.

Ivy was half way
through the ransom demands when the power went out. The windows burst
in and two black clad pointy eared figures jumped through and stood
up. Penguin shouted, "It's the bat!"

"And the kitty
cat," Croc put in. "How many times we going to have to beat you
down boy?" Bane started to move forward.

Batman reached for a
baterang and then paused, sniffing the air. Next to him Catwoman did
something she had not done in years. She stumbled. "Whoa bats, I
feel a little strange. And who is that beautiful woman over there?"

Batman turned and
said, "I don't know…"

Pam smiled and moved
forward. "Oh isn't that sweet. I have two superhero admirers."

Catwoman purred. "I'm
more here on a temporary truce." She frowned. "Wait.. what am I?
What are you doing to us?"

"Stop it," Batman
growled. "Don't do this." He stood still as Ivy reached out to
touch his cheek.

"You know, I've
always wondered… what does Batman look like under that mask?" She
smiled and leaned up, blowing warm breath in his face. "Why don't
you two both take off that masks and show Poison Ivy exactly what you
look like?"

"I…" Batman
began.

"Please? For little
old me?"

Reaching up he and
Catwoman began pulling up their cowls.

Another window broke
then and a new figure dropped into the room. "Don't do it." The
voice was adult. Female. Everyone turned to look.

"Another Batman?"
Penguin said.

"I don't think
so," Croc said.

This new figure was
smaller than Batman. Her costume was just as form hugging, but you
could see hunks of body armor under the purple latex. It had taken
her hours to bang out the chest. Admittedly it was padded and a lot
bigger than her real chest. But the armor was just as effective. She
had added a wig made of red human hair to the back of the cowl,
making it look like her own. The cowl, while purple too, was still in
the shape of Batman's. The gloves had a single line of razor sharp
spikes down the side instead of the two rows on Batman's. Around
her waist was a utility belt. It had been a lot of work resizing
everything to fit her. Still she had done it and it fit nicely. She
could move and it hid her well. Plus she had worked in most of the
high tech Batman had built into his costumes and added a voice
frequency modulator to hide her voice. With a recorded sample she
could sound like anyone. She had also tied a scarf around her face.

"Great another
one," Isley said. She glanced at Batman. "Are you starting a
franchise?"

"Isley, give up
now," Batgirl said.

"It's Poison Ivy
now," she said. "And why should I? A few more seconds and you'll
be my slave. Or maybe I'll have the boys here kill you. Or maybe
I'll have these children tear you apart." She tilted her head.
"No, I have a better idea. Batman. Catwoman. Get her."

Batman moved fast,
Catwoman on his heels. Batgirl dodged back in time to avoid his first
punch. He was still moving but he was slow. Then she ducked back and
took a row of scratched from Catwoman's claws. "Call them off
Isley or else."

"Or else what?"

"You forget where
you are Isley. Or Ivy. Whatever you crazies call yourself." She
ducked and wove between Batman and Catwoman's assault. Then she
back flipped, landing next to the door. "This is a school."

"So?"

Batgirl smiled as
Batman and Catwoman rushed after her. "So, you always have a
problem with delinquents." Reached out to the wall Batgirl pulled
down the fire alarm switch. An alarm began to ring. Then the
sprinklers went off. Batman and Catwoman froze. Behind them kids and
adults started shaking their heads.

"No!" Ivy
screamed. The water was washing her scent out of the air.

Penguin, Croc, and
Bane all shook their heads. Croc said, "What that lady do to us."

Penguin turned and a
knife sprang from his umbrella. Before Ivy could dodge he stabbed her
in the leg. She fell screaming to the floor. "We'll deal with her
later. For now Bane, keep those kids in their seats!" The knife
retracted and it clicked, switching to gun mode. "Then we'll
handle the bats and the cat!"

"I think so,"
Catwoman said. "I'm no longer in love. Just pissed. But then,
that's how it always is, right?"

Batman looked Batgirl
over. "I think those belong to me." He pointed to the outfit and
utility belt.

"Don't see your
name on them," she said quickly. "Sue me. Anyway can we talk
about this later?"

Batman glanced back
over his shoulder at the approaching villains. "Right." He threw
a baterang at Croc's foot, knocking it out from under him. "You
get the lizard. I'll handle Bane."

"That leaves Tweety
for me," Catwoman said. They broke apart. The kids were too scared
to move, Bane hovering over them like a cloud. But they did when
Batman came running.

Batgirl raced towards
Croc as he got up. She kicked him in the face sending him back onto
his back. "That hurt. Girl when I get my claws on you…" He
reached out quickly and grabbed her leg, pulling hard. Batgirl ended
up on her back. And suddenly he was on her. His jaws opened and he
moved towards her face.

Batgirl reached up
and brought her hands together on his jaws, forcing them shut. "No
snacking between meals." She twisted and forced him onto his back,
her straddling his belly. Then she head butted him. The reinforced
bat-shaped cowl cracked hard against his skull. It made her head
ring. Him it knocked out. She reached for some of the reinforced line
in her utility belt and began tying him up.

Catwoman was fighting
the Penguin. She was too close to shoot so he brought out the knife
again. He was faster then she thought and she ended up with a cut
along her ribs that made her hiss. "Ow! See, this is why I don't
do the hero thing." She back flipped and kicked out, knocking the
umbrella out of his hand. Instead of going after it though Penguin
dropped to the gym floor and slid across it like it was ice, ramming
into Catwoman and knocking her back. Then his hands were on her
throat.

"You know what you
do with a two hundred pound canary?" He said as he choked her. "You
teach it to say 'Here kitty, kitty!'" Catwoman was kicking him
but the blubber was too thick for her to hurt him.

Then Batgirl
appeared, punching him across the face. Penguin was knocked back. He
landed in front of Ivy who used her good leg to kick him the rest of
the way out. "Fat… ugly…useless…You ruined everything!" She
kept kicking long after he was out. "When I'm back on my feet
you'll all pay! I'll wipe out every human on this planet!"

Meanwhile Batman was
having trouble. Bane was slow, but powerful. And Batman was still
tired from chasing Catwoman all over Gotham. He was slowing down and
it was only going to take one good hit for Bane to finish him. None
of the punches and kicks Batman landed seemed to have any effect.
Batgirl and Catwoman moved in to help but he said, "Stay back!"

"But…" Both
women started.

"Just get the kids
out of-"

And then a new shape
flew through the air, landing on Bane's back. The giant tried to
reach it, but the boy there was too small and his muscles were too
big. The rest of the room stared in shock. Dick then pulled down the
back of Bane's shirt, revealing a tube that had been hidden by the
cloth. In his other hand he had the baterang that Batman had thrown
at Killer Croc. With one quick move he used it to slice through the
tube and then jumped away as off fluid began spraying out.

Bane screamed, trying
to reach back. But as he did his body seemed to deflate like a
balloon. As fast as the strange liquid spilled out he was shrinking.
Until he was not much bigger than Dick.

Batman towered over
the little man. Bane looked up and smiled hopefully. Then Batman
punched him, knocking him across the room and into the stage. Then he
looked at Dick. "Good work."

"It was no big
deal," the boy said, dropping the bat-shaped piece of metal in his
hand. "I'd seen him use it before in the circus."

"What about me?"
Batgirl asked. "I just saved everyone."

Batman turned on her.
'And now you can give back what you stole."

Batgirl backed away
quickly. "No way!"

Suddenly there was a
loud click. Both bats turned and saw Dick standing over Penguin. He
had the bird's umbrella in his hand and a steely look in his eye.

"Don't do it,"
Batman said.

"He killed my mom
and dad."

Batgirl said, "And
he'll pay for that. He will. But if you shoot him you'll be just
as bad. Your parents wouldn't want that."

"What do you two
know?" He looked up, tears in his eyes. "What do you know about
anything?"

"I know," Batman
said firmly.

Batgirl said, "I
know how my parents would feel… if I did something like that. No
matter who it was. You can't make their deaths right by killing
someone. It doesn't work like that."

Slowly the boy
lowered the weapon. "You're right." Then he kicked Penguin in
the balls. Hard.

Catwoman said, "You
know, I was just thinking about hiring a partner, if you're
interested. Thief pays way better than crime fighter. And you have a
way with people."

"Thanks for the
offer. But," Batgirl smiled and shook her head. "Not a chance."

"Pity," Catwoman
said. She winked at Batman, blew him a kiss, and then turned and ran
out the door. "Later."

Batman let her go. He
turned to Batgirl. "I said, give it back."

"I don't think
you'd look good in it," she said, back flipping towards one of
the busted windows. She landed on the ledge and saluted him. "Later!"

"Wait," Dick
called. "Who are you?"

Batgirl smiled.
Reaching up she adjusted the voice synthesizer to another voice she
had recorded when she had been playing around with it. Throwing a
smoke pellet in front of Dick and Batman she said in the voice of a
cartoon duck, "I am the terror that flaps in the night…" Batman
ran towards her but when he cleared the smoke she was gone.

"You should let her
go," Dick said, a big grin on his face. "I heard Poison Ivy
talking You should head over to the police station. She dosed all of
them."

Batman nodded. Then
he reached for his belt and nodded at the sleeping villains. "Think
you can tie them up?"

"Please," Dick
said. "I used to help out with an escape artist." He took the
cuffs and turned to do it as the teachers helped settle the still
confused children. He paused and looked back. "By the way thanks
for…" But Batman was gone. "I know how that trick works too!"
He yelled.

The next week at
school Barbara came in with a bounce to her step. The police had
found her squeezed up inside a locker. She had told them that she had
seen what Isley was doing, but when she tried to call the cops and
got no help there. So she had hidden herself in the locker to wait
for help to arrive. Since then the kids had been taken to various
shrinks and school had been closed for a week. Barbara thought it was
a bit of a short break, but had to admit that if they closed down the
whole city every time someone was kidnapped or a building got ruined
nobody in Gotham would do anything.

Dick was waiting for
her outside school. He smiled and waved her over. When she got there
before she could even say hello he said, "I know it was you."

"Huh?" She said.

"I totally
recognized that back flip you used when you left," he said smugly.

Barbara gritted her
teeth. So much for her career in crime fighting. "So what are you
going to do? Tell on me?"

"No," he said. "I
was wondering if you might need help."

"Help?"

"I don't mind
being a sidekick. At least for a while. And you know I'm good.
Heck, I took down Bane without help. And you're still a kid. You
could use the assist."

Barbara smiled.
"Don't you think you might get into trouble?"

"Nah. Bruce is
never home at night anyway. He's either working or out on dates.
And Alfred's so old I'm amazed he remembers what day it is."

"And if I say no
you'll tell on me?" She asked.

"Nah. You did save
my life after all."

"Okay, you're in.
I still have some left over gear of Batman's we could use to outfit
you with. But it'll be dangerous." He gave her a look. "And
you'll need to think of a name… how about Wonderboy?"

"No," he said.
They started walking inside.

"Okay… how about…
Bartman?"

"No."

"Speedy?"

"Now that's just
stupid."

In Arkham Asylum
Poison Ivy was led to her new cell and pushed inside. "Say hello to
your new roommate." And the cell was locked behind her.

It was dark inside.
There was a small window covered in bullet proof glass. Ivy had to
have a roommate. It turned out that a side effect of the potion she
had given herself was that now she gave off oxygen and breathed
carbon dioxide. Without a human in her cell she would die. Talk about
irony.

"You smell like an
air freshener, you know that doll?" An annoying voice said from the
covers on the top bunk. It was the most annoying voice Ivy had ever
heard. And the accent was like an old time street moll.

"Sorry," she said
limping into the room.

"Not complaining
toots. Just commenting. Don't get to talk to too many people in
here ya know? Once you're here they usually just want you to talk
to the shrinks so they can figure out what's wrong with ya."

"So why are we
sharing a cell."

"Cause that don't
work with me." She uncovered herself and rolled over. She had a
huge grin on her face. It continued past her mouth as a four inch row
of stitches on each cheek. "I used to be one of the doctors here."

"My god… what
happened to you?"

"My boyfriend
thought I looked sad and could use a smile," she said cheerfully.
"I think it adds a little something to my looks, don't you?"
She rolled off the bed and extended her hand. "Harley Quinn, at
your service."

"Poison Ivy," she
said, shaking the hand.

"You know Ivy, I
got the feeling you and I are going to be real good friends."

Suddenly the light
spilling in from the window turned green. Both women moved towards
to, looking out into the Gotham night. Up in the clouds someone was
shining a light in the shape of a huge green question mark.

Author's Note

Like it? Hate it? I
love for responses from my fans. Personally I think this would make a
good third movie. But that's just my opinion. Tell me what you
think.

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.